Happy New Year to our donors, volunteers and loyal followers,

Operation Walk was started by Dr. Lawrence Dorr close to thirty years ago and this past year has not only continued his legacy but built a solid foundation for years to come.

2024 presented two of our most challenging missions since the inception of our organization. Operation Walk Los Angeles returned to the Philippines after two decades and embarked on its ninth mission to Cuba a day after the country had been ravaged by Hurricane Rafael. The gift of hip and knee to patients in those countries went beyond expectation and helped to restore mobility to people in need.

Many thanks to our volunteers who gave their time, talents, and financial support to make these two trips a reality. Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to you all for putting your best foot forward and representing our organization with professionalism, compassion, and dedication.

Success sometimes can be followed by complacency but that has never been the case for Operation Walk. We're currently planning the destination for our 2025 mission and preparing for our annual gala, which we have moved to the spring so more followers, donors and volunteers can attend. 

We appreciate all that you have done for our organization, especially during this incredibly ambitious and successful year. We hope we have given all of you a reason to continue in your support and look forward to sharing our updated plans with you soon.

Dr. John Callaghan

Chairman of the Board

Operation Walk Los Angeles

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and continues to have a Happy New Year! 

Our 2024 mission trips to The Philippines and Cuba were a huge success, and we couldn’t have done it without all of our wonderful volunteers and donors. As we start this new year, we are planning our 2025 mission and raising as much money as we can to be able to help as many people as we can. We are hopeful that we will be able to make Cuba 2025 happen and make more dreams a reality for the beautiful people of Havana. We are so incredibly thankful for our Operation Walk Angels and donors and ask graciously for your help in the upcoming year so we can make our 2025 mission plans into a reality.

Our annual Operation Walk Gala will be taking place on May 3rd, 2025, at the Beautiful Annandale Golf Club. Please save the date, and be on the lookout for official invitations soon. If you would like to make a donation to help make our 2025 mission trips a reality, you can donate online here.

Here’s to a 2025 filled with great health, success, and enjoying every moment with our loved ones. I can’t wait to see all the amazing things that will be coming to fruition this year.

Warmest Regards,

Roshy Khorsand, 

Donations Coordinator 

New Angels Dr. Melanie Hall and Molly Anderson

We’d like to start out 2025 by recognizing our newest Operation Walk Los Angeles Angels, Dr. Melanie Hall and Molly Anderson. Both women joined us in Cuba for their second mission trip and made incredible contributions to the team.

Dr. Hall, an anesthesiologist with Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, worked with patients in pre- and post-op, as well as making sure they were cared for during their joint replacement surgery. Her calm demeanor and warm smile made patients feel comfortable both before and after their procedures. Dr. Hall said that one of her favorite parts of Operation Walk is being able to visit with the patients on the floor and see their progress during rehabilitation.

Molly Anderson is currently a senior in high school but has been volunteering with Operation Walk Los Angeles since the age of five. Molly has helped raise money through self-started fundraisers, volunteered during our Galas, and attended many packing events throughout her young life. She joined us in Cuba, assisting during patient screening, working as a translator, and gathering patient stories and thank-yous for our Angel program. Molly makes a genuine connection with each patient she interacts with and is always ready to help across the board during mission trips.

Welcome to both ladies, we are excited to have you as a part of our philanthropic sisterhood and can’t wait to see what 2025 holds in store for our organization. 

A new year brings around a time for renewal. If you are currently an Angel, don’t forget to renew your place with us in 2025. Not yet an Angel? We invite you to join us in changing lives around the world through joint replacement. Click the link below for more information.

What better way to start off the New Year than with updates from our patients? Below, you will read three stories from people of different generations, with varied backgrounds, and in unique stages of their lives. The bond that unites them all is the gift of mobility and the chance to live their lives pain-free and to their best abilities. Thank you, Dora, Luis, and Ada, for sharing your journeys.

Dearest Friends,

I am sending you this video so you can see how well I am doing a little more than a month after my hip replacement. I’m already back at work and don’t need to use my cane anymore. You do not know what this surgery has meant to me. I wanted to thank you because, without your help, I wouldn’t be able to walk.

I have a great love for you and for everyone in the Operation Walk organization. You will all live in my heart, and to me, you are family. I have prayed to God that you will continue to help us here in Cuba because we need your support now more than ever. 

Dora R. Garcia Delgado

Right hip Recipient

Our physical therapy team working with Luis his first time up after surgery

“Do you think you could write me a note for my instructor, letting them know why I wasn’t in class this week?”

This is not the typical question our surgeons hear when visiting their patients on the floor. Dr. Russ Cohen smiled at patient Luis Duran Diaz and said he would gladly write the letter. 

Luis is a twenty-year-old student studying engineering. He loves sports and often played soccer as a child and young adult. But science and math were his true loves, and he decided to go to university and study to become an engineer.

His plans were interrupted before he had even left high school. In 2019, they feared that Luis had a tumor in their right hip, but instead, they found avascular necrosis. This is a condition that occurs when bone tissue in the hip dies due to a lack of blood supply. This can lead to the collapse of the hip joint and bone, which can cause pain and reduced mobility.

Despite his diagnosis, Luis continued on to the University. The pain hip continued to increase each year. He would tire easily while in class and his hip would ache uncontrollably when the weather was cold. He knew that he couldn’t keep living this way but didn’t know how to change his situation.

He heard about Operation Walk, and his mother and older brother traveled with him for two hours to attend patient screening. He was selected for a hip replacement and received his surgery the next day from Dr. Russel Cohen and this OR team. Luis worked hard after he arrived on the floor, completing all requests from our physical therapy team and was released a day after his surgery. 

Luis can’t wait to see what the future holds for him. “Thank you for helping me to live a normal life without pain. Keep helping others like me and the people of Cuba. Your team makes dreams come true.”

Luis walking two weeks after surgery

"My name is Ada; I am 80 years young, widowed, and have two grown children. I was married for 45 years, and we had a very happy family. I love to exercise my mind, playing word and number crosswords and reading. 

I’ve been in pain for over 10 years in both of my knees but had put off seeing a doctor about my discomfort. When I turned seventy, I decided to see an orthopedic specialist. My pain increasingly limited my movement, making everyday tasks difficult. If I wanted to wash my clothes or cook myself a meal, I had to sit using a tall chair or stool just to make the process bearable. I live alone, so I had to adapt to my limitations to take care of myself. I was relieved to hear that I had a chance for surgery through Operation Walk. 

I am eternally thankful that I was selected and received a right knee replacement. Please keep making these trips and be humble enough to help us. It means the world to me and my country.”

Ada Prado Brito

Right knee Recipient 

Steve interviewing Maria Elena

This month, we want to feature first-time volunteer and translator, Steve Vargas. Thank you for joining us in Havana and being a valuable link of communication between our volunteers, colleagues at Hospital Fructuoso, and most of all our patients. Welcome to the OpWalk family.

“My story is a little different than most. With the power shortages and threats of severe weather, some volunteers could not make the trip. My thanks to team leader, Julie Anderson, for reaching out and giving me this opportunity to be a part of the team.

I signed on for the mission late in the game, I had about a week to prepare to come here to Havana. I wasn’t sure what I would be doing, I knew I spoke Spanish and could help translate for the other volunteers. But I couldn’t imagine all the ways I would be able to contribute.

I worked in the warehouse with warehouse manager, Stacy Kelso, in Central Processing, helping Ray and Jaime; I had the opportunity to help the physical therapists while they were working with their patients, doing so many things I had never done before. But what I loved most was speaking with the patients. Having that one-on-one interaction was one of the best experiences that I have ever had.

It has been a goal of mine for a very long time to participate in a mission such as this one. I want to thank Operation Walk for giving me a chance to be a part of this.”

Steve Vargas

Volunteer and Translator

“Love exists and displays itself through you all: our volunteers, our donors, our patients, and our followers on social media. Happy New Year! Let’s continue to spread the love in 2025. There is still much to be done.”

-Dr. Paul Gilbert

Here's to a year filled with hope, new possibilities, and new opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others!

Wishing you all peace, joy, and purpose in this New Year.

Do you have a photo or memory to share about a past trip? Send your thoughts and images to cami@operationwalk.org and you could be featured in our next newsletter!